CINCINNATI (AP) — President Barack Obama is returning to Ohio to campaign in two key counties for his re-election bid.

The Democrat has outdoor park rallies scheduled Monday in Cincinnati in Hamilton County and then in Columbus, in Franklin County. The rallies take him to the counties where he got his third-most — Hamilton — and second-most numbers of votes in 2008.

Obama was the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry Hamilton County since 1964, and won Ohio on his way to election.

Republican Mitt Romney has also campaigned repeatedly in the Cincinnati and Columbus areas this year. His campaign will counter Obama in Columbus with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Rubio will lead a Monday afternoon rally at the Ohio Statehouse.